Faustian | warrior cats

xvi | deadly duels

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The two toms circled each other in a promising ring of death. They appeared like black vultures in the sky, assuring those who were watching that violence was ahead. A soft silence laid upon them like a single feather, swooping down to intrude their circle. There were no words left to say; everything that had been spoken laid for eternal sleep.

The golden tom broke out of line first. With a great roar, he pushed himself off of the ground and surged forward to clash with his opponent. But Hollowhawk was quick. He promptly ducked under Lionsun's attack, seeing his silver claws fly above his head. Using his place to his advantage, the deputy battered his own claws against Lionsun's stomach. He smacked the golden tom off balance and amusedly watched as he wobbled back to his feet.

Feeling hot with embarrassment, Lionsun stood on the sideline, desperately trying to catch air into his lungs. His sides were heaving up and down, surely revealing that Hollowhawk's forceful blow to the abdomen was a way to thrash him from his feet. And while Lionsun may have had the wind knocked out of him, his fire wasn't gone yet.

Rage sullied down the tom's system and colored the blood in his veins a dark red. Angry words foamed at his mouth but he silenced them with a shivery breath. Lionsun stomped forward for the second time, swinging his claws skillfully over the exposed face of Hollowhawk. He wished to brutally blind the other tomcat so he aimed for his golden eye.

Suddenly, Lionsun marveled in the feeling of burning skin beneath his paws. He looked down at his feet, standing in awe at the sight of a bright crimson plasma dripping down his claws. He then glanced back up at Hollowhawk, eyes widening at the sight of the mark he had made.

The brown tabby tomcat stumbled backward from the force inflicted on his face. He could feel his skin boil in agony; the pain of meeting Lionsun's claws trickled down his face in a flaming manner. There was no denying Lionsun had left an obvious scar; trailing from his right eye down to the left side of his muzzle, there was a clear-cut stripe of blood. It was unmistakable, unlike any war wound, this scar was made with the envious intent to rip apart his face and gash out his eyes.

Meanwhile, Lionsun was having the time of his life. His anger was replaced by the sudden desire for power. Seeing his competitor weak brought strength to his bones. The respectable and upright warrior fell into the hands of something wicked and corrupt. Knowing Hollowhawk was injured and defenseless, Lionsun took this moment to shove him to the ground.

The ThunderClan deputy greeted the earth with a sharp tumble. As he rolled, the dust tangled with his fur, spotting him in a much lighter color. Hollowhawk coughed violently, the atmosphere lifting like sandy fog around his face. While squinting, he could make out the faint figure of Lionsun standing proudly in the clouds.

"Oh look," The amber tom laughed loudly, his smile twisted into a taunt. "Our noble deputy is helpless." He mocked Webstar's word from earlier. That was how everyone in ThunderClan described Hollowhawk: "noble." And Lionsun hated it. So he took Hollowhawk's "noble", spat it into the ground, and buried it up with the rest of the deputy's good traits.

Little did Lionsun know, his bantering back and forth spared time for the breaking brown tom to build himself up again. Hollowhawk struggled to his paws, paying no mind to the pain throbbing on his face.

Expecting him to march forward, back into battle, Lionsun braced himself. Though, to much of his surprise, Hollowhawk scurried in the other direction. Fleetingly, the deputy took flight across the clearing and bolted up the nearest tree. Lionsun heeded from below, confusion was clear as daylight on his face.

Hopping to a low branch, Hollowhawk scuttled across the bark. The leaves rattled from the sudden weight, losing a few of its shriveled sisters as they spiraled down to lay on the roots. Hollowhawk gazed down in delight, a smug smirk taking its place on his lips.

Lionsun felt the fury rise in his chest again. "You can't stay up there forever!" He shouted, scaring away the cloud of dust which sat there before. He stared at Hollowhawk, meeting his golden eyes and licking his lips in the longing for a fight, "Come down!"

Following his request, Hollowhawk leaped gracefully from the branch. He soared magnificently through the sky, seeming like a hawk who was stretching out his mighty wings. The wind sundered softly through the tabby stripes of his fur and eased his glide down. He extended his sharp talons, ready to sink into his prey. But the tremendous sight was short-lived.

When Hollowhawk tumbled to the ground, his neck fell right into the claws of Lionsun. The gloriously colored cat overthrew the hawk-like tom and imprisoned him against the hard ground. Hollowhawk tried to sprawl about. He kicked his hind legs up aimlessly, but Lionsun had learned his lesson from before and had his stomach nowhere near Hollowhawk's reach.

With his throat being ruthlessly strangled from the reach of breath, Hollowhawk went limp under Lionsun's grip. He stared up at the golden cat, begging him to be set free. "Lionsun-" Hollowhawk began with a quivering voice, "Y-You don't have to do this."

The strikingly yellow tom grinned in victory. His smile flashed dangerously; he laughed with a thousand dying stars staining his teeth. "Oh, you have no idea how long I have waited for this moment." Lionsun lifted up his claw high into the air, arranging his limb to strike down and steal the life from Hollowhawk's chest.

Hollowhawk sealed his eyes shut in terror, waiting for the pain of death to come by the ends of Lionsun's claws. But nothing came. Many silent seconds passed by where he laid in his own darkness, simply waiting. What happened? He wondered. Hollowhawk peaked open a blurry eye and standing off to the side looked to be the flaming ginger coat of Larkmoon.

Larkmoon! Hollowhawk rose quickly to his paws, blinking several times to clear away the clouds from his pupils. After readjusting, the tom noticed that the orange she-cat was bent over the dead body of Lionsun. Horror, like a rampant river, rushed through his body. His ears pricked forward and his eyes bulged in fear.

Larkmoon suddenly whipped around. Her gaze met with Hollowhawk's wide eyes. She despised the way he looked at her, as though she were some sort of monster. "Don't look at me like that!" She hissed, the blood on her jaws spraying to cover the dirt in faint droplets. "I just saved your life!" 

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